Bailey to announce Innovation Fund selections

Feb. 9, 2006

KALAMAZOO--The results of a campuswide search for ideas that
are "truly transformational" will be unveiled next
week when Western Michigan University President Judith I. Bailey
announces the proposals selected to receive funding in a President's
Innovation Fund competition she launched last fall.

The successful proposals and the teams submitting them will
be honored when members of the University community gather for
a special reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, in the
North Ballroom of the Bernhard Center. The event will mark the
completion of a competitive process designed to provide cash
awards to turn good ideas into reality. The initiative was first
announced by Bailey in her Sept. 27 State of the University address,
when she said she would use unrestricted gifts to establish a
pool of $2 million for a series of one-time awards for work done
over the next two years. Work on the funded proposals could begin
as soon as next month.

A total of 80 proposals were submitted in the competition,
which was meant to generate and select for funding innovative
ideas with the potential to transform some aspect of the University's
core mission. Open to all members of the WMU faculty and staff,
the competition drew proposals from every corner of the campus.
Those submitting proposals range from top research scientists
and department chairpersons to office support personnel and campus
technical staff. All of those who submitted proposals will be
thanked at the Feb. 15 reception.

The Innovation Fund will provide one-time monetary awards
that could range from $100,000 to $1 million. The president is
making the final selections after receiving the advice and recommendations
of a nine-member review panel led by Dr. Nicholas Andreadis,
dean of Extended University Programs. Five criteria were used
by the review panel to develop their recommendations. The innovative
idea had to advance the mission of WMU, have a significant impact
on student education or University outcomes, produce measurable
results, be feasible to implement and be led by individuals with
expertise and experience.

"Those of us on the review committee were extremely impressed
at the variety and caliber of the ideas submitted for consideration,"
Andreadis says. "It was evident to all of us on the panel
that the teams that authored the proposals were passionate about
their ideas and eager to find ways to enhance and advance the
mission of the University."